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by mariothellama



Series: Robert, Łukasz & Kuba [6]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, FIFA World Cup 2018, Family, Home, Love, M/M, Polish National Team, Set after end of group stage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 12:24:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15096656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/pseuds/mariothellama
Summary: It's time to say goodbye to Russia and go home.





	Home

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't intend writing this and it might be terribly self-indulgent, but their amazing World Cup journey deserved an ending, even if it isn't the ending we hoped for them.
> 
> They landed back in Warsaw today to a genuinely warm welcome. And the Polish team posted a video of their World Cup journey soon afterwards which made me cry with all the memories. Somewhere along the line I fell head over heels in love with this team. The golden era may be fading and I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that Łukasz isn't immortal and the day will come when Łukasz and Kuba will never play together again, but I am genuinely proud of them and what they achieved. My heart may be breaking for them, but those memories can never be taken away.

It was over. They were on the plane home. In a way the departure had been easier for them than for the teams who’d unexpectedly been knocked out in their last game. At least they had had the luxury of preparing. But it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

But at least they’d won that third match as well, played with the pride the eagle on their chest deserved. He still hadn’t scored. Not a single World Cup goal to his credit. Nor had the men he loved even got to play.

All these long years the three of them had travelled this road together. Fate had thrust them together and they’d made more out of it than he’d ever believed possible. And now maybe it was coming to an end. Maybe the golden era was coming to a close. Football was all about change, about moving on, looking for success. He’d followed that mantra his whole career, chased the opportunities, but now he was beginning to wonder.

This had been a wonderful journey, this World Cup journey that had begun back in September 2016. The highs and the lows. He didn’t want it to be over. He’d had the privilege of playing for great clubs, even for one of the greatest. But this is what really mattered to him. Playing for his country. This was the only time he ever let football get to him.

And he was proud. Proud of what they’d achieved as a team. In a way they’d set the bar too high for themselves. They’d qualified in such style that there had been high hopes for them. And then they had fallen at the final hurdle.

They landed in Warsaw. Normally he was delighted to come home, to come back to his city. But not this time. Woj gripped his shoulder encouragingly as he stood up, knowing that he needed strength to face what was to come.

He felt movement behind him. He didn’t even have to turn round to know what was going on. It was them. They’d sat together on the plane, just like they always did. But they were here for him now. Their calm, solid presence giving him courage. Despite all the people around him, the bustle of the airport, the slight tang of jet fuel, he could still identify his mates’ scents.

Once in the terminal building, he was genuinely taken aback. He hadn’t expected this. Deep inside he’d thought that they were coming back as failures. He hadn’t expected so many people to be there to welcome them back, to give them a heroes’ welcome. A faint flicker of hope stirred inside for the first time in days.

He hadn’t really thought about what would happen next either. He had a flat in the city and he supposed he could go there. Łukasz and Kuba would surely want to go home to their families as well.  This was where their ways would part, at least until their planned summer holiday.

A familiar hand gripped his elbow. A low voice whispered ‘Come with us,’ in his ear. Łukasz.

Robert did as he was told, following them to another part of the terminal building. Not to a car as he’d perhaps suspected, but to a small private jet. This really surprised him. This wasn’t his mates’ style.

Once they were on board, Kuba grinned at him. ‘Don’t worry. You’re paying for this. You’re the multi-millionaire star after all. We just arranged everything. We have enough luggage with us. And we thought … well we thought you might not be ready for it to be over.’

Robert just looked at them in astonishment. His mates knew exactly how he was feeling. But what Łukasz said next genuinely brought tears to his eyes.

‘We’ve rented a cottage. Nothing fancy. Not like you’re used to. But we can be alone together for a few days, just us, away from everything. It’s close enough for us to be able to drive to my parents. And it’s not far from Kuba’s village. You know he always goes home to see his grandmother after playing for the national team. Well this time we wondered if you’d like to come with us and meet Kuba’s grandmother for the first time.’

Robert didn’t have the word to express how he was feeling. So he just leant forward to take grasp hold of his mates’ hands, nodding as he did so.

A car was waiting for them at the airport. A short drive brought them to a beautiful house on the edge of a forest, flowers making the front entrance bright and colourful. It was a world away from his white, modern homes in Munich and Warsaw, but right now it was perfect.

There was a secluded garden for them to sit out in and have breakfast. A small kitchen and a cosy living room. And a huge wooden bed with an obviously handmade coverlet.

‘It’s perfect, simply perfect.’

The three of them hugged for the first time since leaving their room in Russia all those hours ago. Robert let himself sink into the warmth and safety of his mates’ embrace, burying his nose against their throats to inhale their beloved scents.

He let Kuba guide him to the sheltered garden outside. It was time to give up control. To stop being the captain. To stop being Robert Lewandowski. Time to just be.

They were sitting in the sun holding hands when Łukasz started coming out with glasses and dishes.

‘I arranged to have the cupboards and fridge stocked for us as well,’ he explained. ‘Tonight we can eat and drink what we want. The start of training is a whole month away.’

There was wine and beer. The bread Robert normally denied himself. How he missed good, Polish bread. All the simple things that tasted of home, that tasted of childhood.

They sat there until the sun started to set, talking long into the evening. Sharing memories of their time in Dortmund. Their years playing for the national team. Their amazing World Cup campaign. For it had been amazing. Robert could finally begin to let himself believe that sitting here in the Polish sunshine with his mates.

It didn’t take long to clear up and the three of them were soon curled up in that big cosy bed, Robert tucked comfortably between Łukasz and Kuba.

‘We know you’re thinking about the future, Robert,’ Łukasz spoke softly to him, stroking his hair as he did so. ‘So are we. Our lives will change and sooner than yours. I know when I’m going to retire already and I’ve made my peace with that. I just want to achieve as much as I can in the two years I have left. Nobody knows where you will end up either, not yet. But we’ll always have us. Nothing will change that. And we’ll face whatever is before us together, I promise.’

‘And tomorrow you’ll have to face my grandmother,’ Kuba grinned. ‘She’s a formidable woman. And I have to warn you that she’ll have been watching our games closer than any analyst.’

Robert swallowed hard. ‘I hope she likes me.’

‘Oh she will. Because you make me happy. She won’t show it, mind. But we’re family. All of us. We’re a family and that’s the most important thing in the world to me.’

‘Me too,’ echoed Łukasz.

‘And me too,’ Robert answered, almost on the verge of drifting off to sleep. He would sleep soundly tonight, curled up next to his mates in the peace and quiet of the Polish countryside.


End file.
